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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · tear · bark · lean · wake · sharp · mouse · ground

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pop — soda
  8. tear — to rip
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lean — thin
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pop — music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com